Here is a selection of items on the agendas for this week’s meetings of the City and Parish councils. To see the full agendas, check out the links below:
- Parish Agenda
- City Agenda (Public Comment Time!)
Lafayette 101
Development Grants
Lafayette Consolidated Government administers millions to local community organizations each year through the federal government’s Community Development Block Grant program. Those funds go to groups pursing essential community needs, like housing and social services.
Parish Council
Final Adoption
No items.
Introduction
No significant items.
City Council
Reports
Heymann Center update. City Council Chair Liz Hebert is planning an update on improvements to Lafayette’s Heymann Performing Arts Center and the facility’s economic impact from the commission that oversees it. The Heymann Center has been the center of political wrestling over potentially building a replacement, which is on tap for $74 million in state funding for UL to build it. The location for a potential replacement has been a point of contention since it was proposed, but the project is a long way from breaking ground without a major local funding initiative.
Final Adoption
Bond issue. Lafayette’s City Council will give initial consideration to a pair of bond issues (A & B) totaling $49.3 million Tuesday, which would be the city’s first bonds issued since 2020, when former Mayor-President Josh Guillory’s administration borrowed $50 million and refinanced another $16 million in existing debt. Bonded debt is funded by city sales tax collections, which have grown substantially since the Covid-19 pandemic began. As of 2022, the city’s outstanding debt totaled roughly $220 million to be paid over many years. Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet’s administration announced this week that the city’s bond rating had been upgraded by Moody’s from Aa3 to Aa2, keeping it below prime status [Aaa] but well into healthy territory ahead of the bond issue.
Introduction
LUS spending. LUS is asking the City Council to approve an $11 million spend down of its $39 million in reserved earnings to accommodate major investments in its efforts to replace water supply lines and electrical distribution system.
Joint Items
Final Adoption
No items.
Introduction
The Extra Mile. Boulet’s administration is proposing a shift in federal grant fund distribution to allocate another $25,000 to The Extra Mile, a non-profit organization that works with state agencies to help families gain access to essentials like clothes and housing. The additional funds will add to $75,000 already set aside for sewer work at one of the organization’s facilities.
Property
| Address | Approval | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 537 Jefferson St. | City Council | Conditional Use Permit for Downtown bar/lounge [Final] |
| 100 Block Inez Lane, Lot 8 | City Council | Rezoning from Commercial-Heavy (CH) to Commercial Mixed (CM-1) [Intro] |
| 2200 Block Verot School Road | City Council | Rezoning from Mixed-Use Neighborhood (MN-1) to Commercial Mixed (CM-1) [Intro] |
| 1103 E University Ave. | City Council | Rezoning from Mixed-Use Neighborhood (MN-1) to Commercial Heavy (CH) with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) [Intro] |
| 134 Vincent Road Annexation | City Council | Annexation and assigning Commercial Mixed (CM-1) and Residential Mixed (RM-1) zoning [Intro] |